Three cheers for India’s tribal & folk art

It’s a day that should have come long, long ago. It should have closely followed September 22, 2005 when an Indian painting set a record by fetching more than a million dollars at an international auction. That was Mahishasura by the late Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009) that had fetched $1.584 million at a Christie’s auction in New York. As Indian modern and contemporary art started scaling heights soon after that cracker of a sale, making stars out of our otherwise weather-beaten artists, an integral component of the rich and diverse art of our country got left behind. That was folk and tribal art.

This subset of Indian art was never totally ignored but as art watchers would testify, it never really got its due; never got toasted at the high profile events reserved for modern and contemporary art; its practitioners never got their share of fame under the sun and soon, the chasm between the gallery promoted modern and contemporary art and the traditional, family-practised tribal and folk art widened.

Finally, August 21, 2012 becomes that date when this totally indigenous ethnic art of the country gets an exclusive shot at honours on the buyer’s pedestal with the country’s first ever auction of Indian tribal and folk art beginning online at www.saffronart.com from 8 p.m.

Saffronart’s decision to dedicate an auction to just folk and tribal art is laudable because so far, canvases by the stars of this genre of Indian art have been clubbed with the rather glitzy ones bearing signatures of modern and contemporary artists, almost drowning in the din of crore-smashing feats by the latter. Besides, such inclusions have also been few and far between.

The new auction sees an impressive number of 75 lots on offer featuring a rich array of art forms — Gond, Warli, Jadu Patua as also objects created by folk and tribal artists in metals and wood — sculptures, anklets, armlets, nose rings, ear clips, wooden masks from Kerala and Karnataka and more. A Theyyam Dancer’s headgear from Kerala, which has strong socio-cultural connotations, is only one of the several exquisite pieces of art on offer. It is expected to fetch Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.

A Theyyam dancer’s headgear from Kerala

Of course, the place of pride goes to the most celebrated tribal artist of our country who also happens to be one of the very few to have a name recall, at least in art circles, even if posthumously. That is Jangarh Singh Shyam, the Gond artist from Madhya Pradesh who committed suicide at the peak of his career at the age of 39 while at a residency at Mithila Museum, Niigata, Japan in July 2001. An untitled acrylic on canvas by Shyam is expected to fetch anything between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 9 lakh; that makes it the highest priced work at this auction. Even if it pales in comparison to the prices commanded by top modern and contemporary canvases, that’s still a ‘whoohoo!’ price for a tribal / folk art canvas. And if such auctions become the norm, then there is no reason why these artists should not start commanding enviable prices in the market. All that would only help in strengthening traditional paintings of the country. There are canvases by other celebrated Gond artists too, like Ram Singh Urveti, Durga Bai, Nankusia Shyam and others.

Jangarh Singh Shyam’s untitled work

Top Warli artist Jivya Soma Mashe’s signature works are also coming up for auction and are priced between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh. What’s interesting about all these canvases is their pricing — these are throwaway prices as any serious collector of art would acknowledge. Those interested in this genre of art should check out the website for the rich range of tribal/ folk art on display even if they don’t have deep enough pockets to bid for one of those works right now.

Jivya Soma Mashe’s Warli art

I sincerely hope Saffronart makes this auction a regular feature in its annual calendar as tribal/ folk art deserves this recognition. Throughout my career of writing in art, I’ve faced difficulties in pushing stories related to this genre in newspapers where I’ve worked and even when I’ve got a go-ahead from a kind editor, it has always been tough sourcing images of these artists. If Saffronart’s auction succeeds, it would be a booster shot to the efforts of the very dedicated professor and former director of Crafts Museum in Delhi, Jyotindra Jain, who has been inarguably the strongest voice in favour of Indian tribal/ folk art for a long time, and also to the efforts of Meena Verma and Tulika Kedia who have been brave enough to open dedicated galleries to folk/tribal art in the commercial art hub sector of Lado Sarai in New Delhi.

This write-up cannot be complete without mentioning the French art connoisseur Herve Perdriolle who runs a gallery in Paris that has such a vast collection of tribal and folk art from India that an average Indian would be surprised on beholding it all. I’m sure there are more people who are silently working for this genus of Indian art but I’ve not been fortunate enough to meet them unlike the four I’ve mentioned whose works never cease to amaze me.

Here’s a toast to the long life of our ethnic arts!

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Author

Archana Khare Ghose, presently working with the Times of India, has been writing for a living for the past 13 years; she has been writing purely for pleasure for much longer than that. Her ideal day comprises a hot mug of tea by a window from where she can watch the world go by, and then write about it all. When not dreaming about her ideal day, she loves to delve into anything that has a generous sprinkling of art, culture, history, heritage, literature and the lives of people who create all of the above. 7thSense is her interpretation of the world around her.

Archana Khare Ghose, presently working with the Times of India, has been writing for a living for the past 13 years; she has been writing purely for pleasur. . .